A Way Back - The Maze Runner (♡Newt) UNDER EDITING/REWRITE

Chapter 48

Minho's pov

That day, when I got back into the Glade, I noticed there was something wrong. Ben was screaming like he had been for three days now, but that wasn't it. There was something else.
     As I jogged past the hole the new Greenie was supposed to come through, I saw Bark. She lay in front of the doors, eyes locked on them. Weird, I thought, but didn't think more of it than that. It was only when I walked out of the Map-room and into the Homestead that I learned what was going on.
     I looked around the room to see Newt sitting alone. He was biting his nails, which never was a good sign. Ezra, Alby, and some other Shanks were sitting on a table on the other side of the room. Wanting to know what was wrong with my friend, I sat down in front of him.
     "Hey, man."
     "Newt looked up to me, and he stopped biting his nails. "Hey, Minho."
     "What's going on? Why does half the Glade look like Chuck scared them while they were taking a klunk?" I asked, hoping my attempt for a joke could make him laugh. It didn't, though. He leaned forward and let his head rest on his hand.
     "Cally's gone."
     It took some time for me to let the words sink in. "Gone? How do you mean, she's gone?"
     "Like I said, she's gone."
     "Gone where? What happened?" Somewhere I already knew I wasn't going to like Newt's answer, but I still had to ask it.
     "She got another wave, made her dizzy, and she fell down into the box."
     "The box? She fell down that black pit?" I was starting to feel panic coming up inside of me. Did she really fall down that thing? Did she get cut in half, or did she fall until she hit the ground?
     But Newt pushed those thoughts away with his answer, "She didn't. I think she didn't. She fell in the box, then it went down with her still in it."
     I felt a little relieved that she wasn't dead. Or at least, she didn't fall to her death. But that relief got replaced pretty soon by a new feeling. I already missed her. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that she's gone forever, right? Maybe the developers made a mistake and sent her back up next month." I said it more to myself than to Newt, I wanted that to be true.
     Newt just looked at me as if I just had said the stupidest thing he had ever heard, "Ya really think that? You think that they made a bloody mistake? If there's anythin' I know 'bout them by now it's that they don't make mistakes. They did all of this to us, I don't think taking the box down with her in it was a mistake."
     "But wha-"
     "Ow, just slim it, Minho. Ya're startin' to sound like that bloody Chuck. He also keeps saying that she's coming back, but she isn't. Everything that ever went down never came back up, by saying she will ya're only foolin' yourself."
     Newt was getting on my nerves already, "such an optimist." I retorted, sarcasm dripping from the words.
     Newt snorted, "Well, at least I'm not givin' myself false hope."
     Not able to deal with Newt's bugging attitude anymore, I got up, "I get why you're sitting alone now. Have fun with your petty party."
     I sat down on the table with Ezra and Alby. "Did he tell you?" Alby asked me, I responded with a nod of my head. "He's taking it bad," Alby told me.
     I took a bite from my food as I answered, "No kidding."
     It was quiet the rest of the day. No one really talked. I hadn't heard Ezra say one thing since I got back. Ben's screaming was still filling the air, though. As the only constant sound, it really didn't make it better.

~.~.~

Ezra's pov

She's gone. My sister is gone. One moment she was there, talking to the new guy, the next moment she fell into the metal box and it disappeared. I had called out her name when I saw her fall, but had laughing the moment I saw her lying in the box. That's the last thing I did, I laughed at her for falling down. If I just had gone after her, jumped down too, I could've helped her climb out of there in time. Or it would've taken me too, but I wouldn't care about that, in that case she wouldn't be alone. If I was with her, I could protect her for those people or whatever is down there.
     But I wasn't. I was sitting by the box, looking down the black hole my twin had been sitting just a few minutes ago. I couldn't believe it at first, I hoped the box would come back up. That the fucking creators would realize she was still in there, that they made a mistake and send her back to me. But of course they didn't, it didn't matter how long I stared down the empty elevator shaft, she wasn't coming back up.
     Newt had fallen out against the new guy, I looked up for a moment when I heard him raise his voice, but I didn't care and looked back down. There was a discussion of some sort, I could hear Alby command Chuck to take the Newbie with him and the discussion was over.
     I felt a presence standing behind me and I didn't look up to ask the question that was on my mind. "She's okay, right? She didn't get sliced in half like that other guy, right?"
    "I... I don't know... she was in the box, so I don't think so.... I hope not." it was Newt's voice that answered me.
     He doesn't fucking think so.... well isn't that just fucking wonderful? It was a yes or no question. I need to know if Cally's okay.
     My thoughts got disturbed when Newt continued talking.  "Let's close the doors. We don't want anyone else fallin' down that bloody thing."
     I nodded in response and got up from the ground, ripping my eyes away from the hole. Up until now I hadn't even noticed the other Gladers had left, but now I looked around me, I only saw Newt and Bark.
     The dog was standing by the hole, just like I had been, staring down it with her head turned a little to the left. Probably wondering where her companion had gone without her.
     Newt and I closed the heavy metal doors. They squeaked as we moved them back, the sound hurting my ears. After we had closed the door we didn't say anything. We locked eyes for a moment before we both walked away.
     Newt had looked the same as I felt. Confused, angry, even a little scared and both still not completely realizing what just had happened.
     I went back to work. We were building a new fence for the cows. Almost the whole day I didn't say anything. I just did my job. I could feel the stares from Gally and the other Builders, but I ignored them.
     After a few hours, we were done, just in time for dinner. I got my food, but instead of sitting by Gally and the others, I wanted to sit alone for a while. So I took my food to the other side of the room and sat down there. Unfortunately, sitting alone didn't last that long. Alby came in and had decided he wanted to talk to me. He sat down in front of me, "How you holding up?" He asked me.
     I snorted, "I'm fucking great, just peaches, couldn't be better." I hoped my tone of voice would make clear that I didn't want to talk, but it didn't.
     "That bad. That's okay, as lo-"
     "Look Alby," I interrupted him, "if you want to sit here, fine. But don't go all shrink on me, I'm not in the fucking mood."
     Alby leaned back and said "good that." Before starting on his own dinner.
    After some time the table started filling up with more guys, from which I barely knew two. I could see Newt coming in at one point, we locked eyes for a second and then he sat down on another table all alone. Great, he gets to sit alone, but I need to have those assholes sitting around me.
     I wasn't paying attention to anything, pushing some beans around on my plate, when Minho sat down on the table too. Immediately Alby started talking to him, "did he tell you?" Minho responded with a nod of his head. "He's taking it bad," Alby stated.
     Minho took a bite from his food as he answered, "no kidding."
     I didn't have to ask who they were talking about, obviously it was Newt. The limping blonde guy who had a crush on my twin. He may have been denying it and Cally hadn't even noticed it, but I knew. I've seen people look at her like that before and I didn't like it most of the time. Not that it matters anymore though, he never acted on it and now he never will.
     I couldn't stand being around all those people anymore, so I got up and walked out of the Homestead. My eyes subconsciously found Bark still standing by the doors, staring at them.
     Has she even had something to eat? Or drink? I thought to myself. Not wanting my sister's favorite dog to starve from hunger or thirst, I took a plate and a bottle of water. I walked at her and put down the plate, she looked at me for some time before starting to eat. I sat down in the grass beside her and started petting her back. When she was done eating I opened the bottle of water and let her drink out of the palms of my hands. "That's better, right?" I asked the dog, who just looked at me for a moment before turning her attention back to the doors. "You should go, dog, she's not coming back." I told her, but she didn't seem to care.
     "Don't say that, she'll be back." I had to use every inch of self control not to roll my eyes at the sound of Chuck's high pitched voice.
     I turned my head to him, he wasn't alone, the Greenie was with him, "and what makes you so sure?" I asked Chuck.
     "What would be the point in putting her here if they just take her back? That just doesn't make sense." The boy said, very convinced of his own words.
     "Putting her here could've been a mistake. This could be the developers fixing the mistake."
     "Why would you think that?" Chuck asked me.
     I sighed, "she was the only fucking girl, Chuck. That didn't seem weird to you? One girl in a place filled with guys?"
     Chuck shrugged, "it's weird, but all of this is. I think she's coming back and you'll see I'm right."
     I rolled my eyes, "Cally liked your optimism, Chuck, but I think it's fucking annoying." There was a small smile on his face when I said she liked his optimism, but it disappeared the moment I called it annoying.
     I looked away to see the Greenie staring at me, "What you staring at Newbie? Did I just insulted your friend?" The moment the words had left my mouth I realized what of an asshole thing I said. I sighed before turning back to Chuck, "look, Chuck. I'm sorry, that was a dick move. I just-"
     "I know," Chuck interrupted me, "I get it. You miss your sister, I miss her too."
     I forced myself to smile at him, then I got up from the ground and turned to the Greenie. "So, you're Thomas, right?"
     "Yes, I am," the guy answered me, I stuck out my hand, which he shook. 
     "My name's Ezra. Enjoy your stay in this hell hole." Thomas still had confusion written all over his face, but I didn't have time nor energy for that. I was so done with all of this.

~.~.~

Edited: 28/12/20